Ordering adjectives in a description – English 2AC
Learn a practical order for common adjectives before a noun. Use a few useful adjectives rather than a long unnatural list.
1. Begin with opinion
An opinion adjective often comes before factual descriptions: a beautiful garden, a lovely small house. Opinion tells the reader what you think.
2. Order common facts
A useful order is size, age, colour, origin and material before the noun: a small old wooden box. Not every description needs every category.
3. Keep the noun at the end
Do not add plural s to English adjectives: two blue bags, not blues bags. Put a or an before the whole singular noun phrase, choosing it from the next sound.
Summary diagram
Worked example
We can describe a bag as «a lovely small blue bag». Lovely is an opinion, small gives size and blue gives colour. For two bags, write «two lovely small blue bags».
6 exercises with answers
Try the exercise before opening the answer.
Exercise 1
Put in order: bag / red / a / small.
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a small red bag.
Exercise 2
Correct: two greens shirts.
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two green shirts. Adjectives do not take plural s here.
Exercise 3
Order: wooden / an / old / chair.
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an old wooden chair.
Exercise 4
Which usually comes first: lovely or large?
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Lovely, an opinion adjective: a lovely large room.
Exercise 5
Choose: a or an old bicycle.
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an old bicycle; old starts with a vowel sound.
Exercise 6
Must a description contain five adjectives?
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No. Choose the details that help the reader.